TRANSFERS

Los Angeles City Charter tit. I, art. III, pt. TRANSFERS

in effect

Los Angeles City Charter § 340 Transfers Between Funds; Temporary Transfers.

Sec. 340. Transfers Between Funds; Temporary Transfers. (a) It shall not be lawful to transfer money from one fund to another or to use the money in one fund in payment of demands upon another fund, except in the case of the Unappropriated Balance and the Reserve Fund, or except as specifically provided in the Charter. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Treasurer and the Controller, when authorized and directed by the Council by resolution, shall make temporary transfers, in accordance with procedures established by law, from the funds of the City as may be necessary to provide funds for meeting obligations of the City. The amount of any temporary transfers shall not at any one time exceed 85% of the ad valorem property taxes accruing to the City, shall not be made after the last Monday in April of the current fiscal year, and shall be replaced from the taxes accruing to the City before any other obligation of the City is met from those taxes.

Los Angeles City Charter § 341 Transfers from Reserve Fund; Appropriations from Unappropriated Balance.

Sec. 341. Transfers from Reserve Fund; Appropriations from Unappropriated Balance. Transfers may be made from the Reserve Fund after adoption of the annual budget to meet in whole or in part any appropriated item of the annual budget, or may be made to the General Fund or the Unappropriated Balance. These transfers and any appropriations from the Unappropriated Balance may be made after adoption of the budget, as follows: (a) upon recommendation of the Mayor, approved by a majority vote of the Council; (b) upon a majority vote of the Council, subject to the approval of the Mayor, or passage by the Council over the Mayor’s veto by a two-thirds vote. If any order making a transfer or appropriation is not returned to the City Clerk by the Mayor for presentation to the Council, with objections in writing, within ten days after it has been presented, it shall become effective and be as valid as if the Mayor had approved and signed it.

Los Angeles City Charter § 342 Transfers of Appropriated Funds.

Sec. 342. Transfers of Appropriated Funds. Funds appropriated in the general City budget or thereafter by the Council for expenditure by any officer, board or department may be transferred to the Reserve Fund or the Unappropriated Balance, or appropriated for the same or other purposes by other authorized officers, boards or departments and the budget or other spending authority amended accordingly: (a) for transfers not in excess of an amount established by ordinance, on the approval of the Mayor, provided that the Mayor shall give notice of such transfer at the time it is made to the City Clerk who shall notify the President of the Council, the Controller and the City Administrative Officer of the transfer; (b) for transfers in excess of an amount established by ordinance, on the approval of the Mayor and a majority vote of the Council; or (c) for transfers in excess of an amount established by ordinance, on the majority vote of the Council, subject to the approval of the Mayor, or passage by the Council over the Mayor’s veto by a two-thirds vote. If any order making a transfer is not returned to the City Clerk by the Mayor, for presentation to the Council, with objections in writing, within ten days after it has been presented, it shall become effective and be as valid as if the Mayor had approved and signed it. SECTION HISTORY Amended by: Subsec. (a), Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.

Los Angeles City Charter § 343 Intra-Departmental Transfer.

Sec. 343. Intra-Departmental Transfer. (a) Departments Not Controlling Their Own Funds. The head of any department not having control of its own funds may make application in writing to the Mayor for a transfer of amounts from one appropriated item to another in the budget allowance of the department or to a new item created after adoption of the annual budget. On the approval of the Mayor, the Controller shall make the transfer, but no transfer of an amount exceeding either thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or other amount established by ordinance shall be made unless approved by a majority vote of the Council. Notwithstanding the above, for transfers within the Council’s budget, the President of the Council shall be authorized to approve transfers. (b) Departments Controlling Their Own Funds. The general manager of any department having control of its own funds may make application in writing to the board having control and management over the department for a transfer of amounts from one budget item to another in the annual budget of the department, or to a new item created after adoption of the annual budget. On the approval of the board, the Controller shall make the transfer, but no transfer of an amount exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) or other amount established by ordinance shall be made unless approved in writing by the Mayor. (c) Increase in Limit. The monetary limitations of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) in subsections (a) and (b) above shall commence at the beginning of the City’s 1999-2000 fiscal year and shall be subject in subsequent fiscal years to an annual adjustment at the beginning of the fiscal year based upon the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the Los Angeles area published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (d) Notice. At the time any transfer of funds pursuant to this section is made, the authority approving the transfer shall give notice to the City Clerk, who shall notify the President of the Council, the Controller and the City Administrative Officer of the transfer. SECTION HISTORY Amended by: Subsec. (d), Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.

Los Angeles City Charter § 344 Transfer of Surplus to Reserve Fund.

Sec. 344. Transfer of Surplus to Reserve Fund. (a) At the close of each fiscal year, the Controller and Treasurer shall transfer all surplus money remaining in each fund over and above the amount of outstanding demands and liabilities payable out of the fund to the Reserve Fund, except surplus money in the several bond funds, interest and sinking funds, trust funds, pension and retirement funds, Harbor Revenue Fund, Library Fund, Recreation and Parks Fund, Power Revenue Fund, Water Revenue Fund, Airport Revenue Fund and other funds as provided by the Charter or ordinance. The Council may, by ordinance, direct that surplus money in the Harbor Revenue Fund, the Power Revenue Fund or the Water Revenue Fund be transferred to the Reserve Fund with the consent of the board in charge of the fund, but not otherwise. Surplus money may be transferred from the Airport Revenue Fund only as provided in Section 635. (b) The Council may, by ordinance, direct that a transfer be made to the Reserve Fund from surplus money in the Water Revenue Fund or Power Revenue Fund with the consent of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners (the "Board"), as provided in this section. (1) For purposes of this section, surplus in the Water Revenue Fund or Power Revenue Fund shall be defined as the amount remaining in the Water Revenue Fund or Power Revenue Fund, less outstanding demands and liabilities payable out of the fund, at the end of the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the transfer is to be made, as shown by audited financial statements. (2) Through the process provided in this section, the Board may withhold its consent to make the transfer in whole or in part if, despite the existence of a surplus as defined herein, it finds that making the transfer would have a material negative impact on the Department's financial condition in the year in which the transfer is to be made. (3) By no later than November 30 of each year, the Board shall be presented with audited financial statements for the prior fiscal year. Based upon the audited financial statements for the prior fiscal year and budget status information for the current fiscal year, the Board shall, by December 31 of each year notify the Council and Mayor that the Board has (i) approved that the transfer be made in full, (ii) approved that the transfer be made in part, or (iii) decided that the transfer not be made in whole or in part. In the event that no approval of the transfer in full has been made by the date of notification, the Board shall provide the City Council and Mayor with (i) a detailed explanation of the basis therefor and all supporting financial information, and (ii) a preliminary assessment on the feasibility of making the transfer or the remaining portion of the transfer, as the case may be, by the end of the current fiscal year, which preliminary assessment shall be accompanied by a detailed explanation of its basis and all supporting financial information. (4) In the event that the Board notifies the City that it will be unable to make the transfer in whole or in part because it will have a material negative impact on the Department's financial condition in the year in which the transfer is made, the City Administrative Officer shall verify the Department's findings and report to the Mayor and City Council concurrently, by no later than February 28, with that office's findings and recommendations. The Board shall after receiving the report from the City Administrative Officer and consultation with the Council and Mayor, act to either amend or uphold the Board's preliminary findings. (5) Any transfer made shall be consistent with any applicable contractual obligations. SECTION HISTORY Amended by: Charter Amendment J § 2, approved March 8, 2011, effective April 8, 2011.

Source: City of Los Angeles, Charter and Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/laac/0-0-0-1226Fetched: 10/24/2026